Magic of Christmas Eve
by AliasCSINYFriendsER
Summary: What’s Christmas without our two favorite CSIs?


**Disclaimer:** CSI: NY does NOT belong to me. Anything I write is purely for fun and entertainment - not for profit! This may be slightly AU or OOC…just a heads-up. I like to write about Fun Mac & Stella over Serious Mac & Stella. LoL But I do try to keep them in character most of the time.

**Spoilers:** None really. Just a fluffy Cmas fic. ;o)

**Summary: **What's Christmas without our two favorite CSIs?

**A/N: **This will probably be a short story. Also, I hope this doesn't sound like anyone else's story…if it does, I'm so very sorry. I was trying to make it original. shrugs

Stella sighed as she entered Mac's office, closing the door behind her. "What are you still doing here?" she wondered, crossing her arms.

Mac looks up and gives her a small but guilty smile. "Umm, had to finish this paperwork?" he offers, knowing it's pointless.

She shook her head and snatched the file away. "No, Mac. I told you to go home, it's Christmas Eve for crying out loud!" She raises an eyebrow, daring him to argue with her.

He gives her a look as he stands and crosses his arms. "Well, what are _you_ still doing here?" he counters. He comes around to stand in front of her and leans against his desk. "Isn't there some big Christmas party that you wanted to go to?"

Stella's expression softens slightly. "Well, Aiden is throwing a party. The others are already there." She pauses before continuing, "Do you want to go with me?"

Mac sighs as he glances at the floor then back at her. "Stella," he starts, but then realizes he doesn't know how to finish. He would love to go with her, but he didn't want her to know that somewhere along the line, he had fallen in love with her. With Stella…his best friend and partner.

Stella patiently waits while he ponders yet another excuse as to why he doesn't want to attend a social gathering. _Why did I ask if he wanted to go with me? Of course he doesn't want to go! He'd rather stay here and work…_

"I'll go," Mac answers softly. "But only because it's our close friends and only because I get to go with you." He gives her a gentle smile in response to her surprised expression.

"Seriously?" she stuttered.

"Seriously," he confirmed. He grabbed his jacket and shuts down his computer. "We don't want to be later than we already are, so let's go!" he teases.

That gets Stella into gear and she hurries down the hall to her own office to grab her stuff and shut down her own computer. Slipping on her jacket, she flips her hair out just as Mac meets up with her. "You'll have fun tonight," she reassured.

Mac, out of habit, places his hand on the small of her back as he escorts her into the elevator. "If I don't, then you owe me."

Stella immaturely stuck her tongue out in retaliation and darted out of the elevator the minute the doors dinged open. "Come on slowpoke," she calls.

Chuckling, Mac quickens his pace to catch up. "Your car or mine?" he asks.

"Yours is fine," she responds, making her way to the passenger side of his car. "Hurry up," she demands the minute he gets in.

"Patience is a virtue," he quips as he starts the car and backs out of the space. Their banter continues all the way to Aiden's apartment and into the elevator. Stella loves seeing the light, playful side of Mac. It's been a long time since the Playful Mac has made an appearance.

Mac had his hand raised to knock as Aiden flung the door open. "Come on in!" she greeted excitedly. "Give me your coats and make yourselves comfortable! Danny's serving drinks from the bar." She relieved them of their jackets and went to drop them off in her guest bedroom.

"Hey Stella!" Danny greeted. "And you brought…oh!" he said in surprise. "Mac! You made it!"

Mac smiled, a little uncomfortable being around his teammates in such a casual manner. "Yeah I did. So what have you got?" he asked, glancing over the selection of drinks.

Aiden made her way over to Stella who was chatting with Flack. "So, how'd you convince him to come?"

Stella laughed, "I really don't know. But whatever I said, it worked!" She grinned as she accepted the glass of eggnog from Mac. "Thanks," she said, smiling.

Flack nodded knowingly at Aiden who was trying to hide a smirk. Barely able to contain her laughter, she dragged Flack away from the pair. "Give him ten minutes and then you owe me 50 bucks," Aiden smirked.

Flack shook his head. "Nah, I say give him at least an hour. He'll shirk around the mistletoe issue and then eventually give up and kiss her."

"Nope, I say ten minutes. There's so much sexual tension between them, it's frustrating," Aiden laughed.

"You mean, like with you and Danny?" Flack asked with a smirk.

Aiden smacked him across the back of the head as they moved into the kitchen. "Shut up, Flack," she warned.

"Perhaps the magic just won't be happening with Mac and Stella tonight," he said, continuing to tease her.

"Ha, ha," she said sarcastically. "Will ya just leave it alone?" She grabbed a stack of napkins and headed over to Danny at the bar. "How's it going over here?" she grinned, placing the stack of napkins next to him.

Danny returned her grin. "Things are going great," he teased. He nodded over at Mac who was just handing Stella a refill. "How's the plan working out between those two?"

Aiden looked over at the pair. "Hmm, not really sure yet." She glanced back at Danny. "Think we should give them a shove?"

"Give who a shove?" Hawkes asked, motioning for another drink from Danny.

"Oh, Mac and Stella," Danny answered casually. He handed Hawkes his refill and rested his hands against the counter as he leaned against it.

"Ahh," Hawkes answered knowingly. "Maybe we should give them a shove…or a nudge at least." He looked up in the doorway of the kitchen. "Think we could corner them under the mistletoe?"

Aiden and Danny looked thoughtful as they both stared at the piece of plant hanging in the doorway. When they looked back at each other, both started grinning mischievously. "Great idea Hawkes."

Hawkes shrugged and moved on to chat with a few other people. Danny left the drink counter and headed towards Mac. "Hey, Mac. Can you come help me with, uhh, something in the kitchen?"

Aiden shoved him as she rolled her eyes at his lame attempt to get Mac towards the kitchen, and asked Stella for some guy-advice. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Mac and Danny headed for the kitchen. She nodded as Stella told her something and interrupted her, "Can you help me bring some dishes out?"

Stella looked confused but nodded, "Yeah, sure." She followed Aiden into the kitchen and smiled as she noticed Mac and Danny arguing about which hockey team was the best, instead of fixing the supposed-something that needed fixing.

Aiden handed a tray over to Danny, a tray to Mac and one to Stella. She motioned for Danny to follow her. As they headed out into the living room, they got caught under the mistletoe. Laughing, Danny gave her a quick kiss as everyone else cheered and teased them.

Stella shook her head, laughing, and headed in the path Aiden and Danny took. "Come on Mac, let's get these trays out there." Just before they could move past each other, Hawkes called out, "You have to kiss her!"

Mac mock-glared at Sheldon as he leaned over and kissed Stella's cheek. "Nope," chimed Aiden. "It's tradition to kiss on the lips!"

Stella rolled her eyes but watched curiously as Mac leaned forward, paused, and then pressed his lips against hers, gently. When he pulled away, she stood there in shock. "Wasn't that bad, was I?" Mac winked, walking away to put the tray down.

Stella finally found her voice as she crossed the room to where Aiden and Danny were snickering together. "I'm assuming that all of this was your idea," she stated, placing her hands on her hips.

Danny looked away with a guilty expression. Aiden sighed and nodded. "Well, yeah. I guess we can't get by you. But you have to admit, it helped, didn't it?"

Stella paused. "I'm not sure. But Mac is sure acting different, in a good way." She looked over to where Mac was talking with Sheldon and Don.

Several hours later, the small group had exchanged gifts with each other and laughed hysterically about nothing in particular. Not long after exchanging gifts, Sheldon and Don excused themselves, stating they both had to go meet up with their families. Danny stood and stretched, collecting plates and napkins.

"Come on, Aid, up and at 'em," Stella said, patting Aiden on the leg as her friend groaned. "Let's help the boys clean up." She collected up her plate and napkin as Aiden did the same.

As soon as the apartment was cleaned, the four of them plopped down in various places to relax in the company of each other. "Thanks for helping me clean you guys," Aiden said, placing a throw pillow in her lap and hugging it to herself.

"Not a problem," Danny grinned. He leaned back and stretched his legs out on the coffee table. "What are you going to do with your family?"

"Oh they aren't here this year. They went to Alaska on a cruise or something like that," Aiden shrugged nonchalantly. "But we kinda celebrated around Thanksgiving."

"That's good," Stella smiled. "What about you, Danny?" she asked.

"We're celebrating Monday, instead of tomorrow. Something about my younger brother not making it to New York until late tomorrow night," Danny answered. He nodded to Mac, "You?"

Mac shook his head. "No one really. Just you guys." Everyone grew silent at this and looked down at the floor. "Hey guys, it's okay. Seriously, don't worry." He smiled to reassure them.

Stella stretched her legs out before standing. "Aid, thanks for tonight. I haven't had this much fun during a holiday for a long time." She headed back to Aiden's guest bedroom to collect her coat as Aiden followed.

"Are you gonna make a move, Mac?" Danny wondered the minute the girls were out of the room.

Mac looked at Danny in surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

Danny sighed and sat up. "Everyone can tell that you and Stella have a strong connection. The sexual tension is blatantly obvious." He reached out and gave Mac a manly pat on the back. "I think you should make a move."

Mac stared at Danny for a moment before giving him a short nod. "I see," he said thoughtfully. "Anything going on with you and Aiden?" he asked, turning the tables on him.

Danny sat there, stunned for a moment as he contemplated an answer. Knowing he couldn't get around Mac and his sharp eyes, he shrugged. "Well, not yet…but almost."

Again, Mac nodded. "Okay. Don't hurt her, Danny," he warned simply.

Danny chuckled and nodded. "Yes sir. Now back to you and Stella. Think you can handle making a move?"

Mac stood up and walked over to the window, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I don't know."

Danny rolled his eyes and stood as well. "Do it Mac. You guys are so close already…just go for it."

In the guest room, Aiden was trying to convince Stella as well. "Come on, Stel. You and Mac…the sexual tension is so thick around you guys that we can cut it up and serve each other slices!"

Stella laughed at her exaggeration and slipped into her coat. "Aid, I don't know if he's ready for any kind of relationship yet. You know how he felt…still feels…about Claire."

Aiden shook her head. "Doesn't matter! You won't be replacing her place in his heart. You'd create your own special place in each other's hearts," she said, trying to sound wise.

Stella shook her head and Aiden's lame attempt to convince her. "Uh huh…" she stated skeptically.

"Come on. Let's go find out," Aiden encouraged. She led Stella out into the living room and found Mac and Danny standing by the windows. "Stella's getting ready to leave. Mac? You leaving too?"

Mac glanced over at Stella and could tell that Aiden had been talking about them to her as well. "Yeah, I'm going too." He accepted his coat from Aiden and shrugged into it.

Aiden and Danny said goodbye as Stella and Mac left together and headed for the elevator. Once they were outside, Mac chirped the alarm to his car, unarming it. "Stel, we need to talk. Tonight was obviously a ploy to try and get us together," he started, jumping right into the fire, so to speak.

Stella laughed and pointed out, "You don't waste a minute, do you?" She sighed as she watched him fiddle with the keys. "Yes, Mac…tonight was obviously a ploy to get us together," she paused. "Is that something you'd be interested in?" she asked quietly.

Mac paused, glanced out the window then back at Stella. "No," he started, shattering Stella's hopes with one word, "It's something I'd _love_ to be involved in."

Stella looked up at him through watery eyes. "What?" she whispered in surprise.

Mac reached over and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I'd love to be in a relationship with you," he answered just as quietly. He stroked his thumb across her soft skin.

"This is the best Christmas ever," Stella joked, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall.

Mac laughed and rolled his eyes. "Well, if being in a relationship with you is going to cause you to be corny, maybe I should rethink this," he teased, sticking the keys into the ignition and starting the car.

Stella chuckled and slugged him playfully. "Shut up," she laughed. "Where are we going?"

"Wherever the magic of Christmas Eve takes us," he replied mysteriously, pulling away from Aiden's apartment building. Stella grinned and grasped his free hand in hers, intertwining their fingers, letting him take them to wherever the day led them.

A/N: Okay, so was this totally corny or what? Hmm, I don't know…maybe you guys can tell me, so please review after reading! LoL Press that button…you know you want to.


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